All the papers go inside with the latest developments in the alleged rape of a Sunni woman by Iraqi police officers. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki fired a top Sunni official who had criticized the government and had called for an investigation. Meanwhile, the prime minister's office said it will sue the woman for making up the story and released what it claimed was a portion of the woman's medical record, which supposedly proves she wasn't raped. McClatchy showed the file to some rape experts who said the medical file doesn't prove that at all, and, in fact, some of the injuries reported are consistent with reports of sexual assault. USAT says the U.S. military will launch its own investigation

Is Maliki nuts or what? I read somewhere yesterday that Maliki gave the alleged rapists medals too.

Maliki's handling of this situation is appalling, even for a Bush School of Politics Graduate. Even if, and that's a big "if", this woman is an insurgent plant with a false claim, by continuing to pursue it publically Maliki makes her a martyr and cause celeb' ... exactly what the insurgents would like? There is no such thing as definative proof in a rape situation, it always comes down to a "who do you believe" situation, leaving the door wide open for an extended controversy. And if the woman was raped then he simply re-raping. In either case, Maliki is feeding into the Sunni insurgency's P.R. wheelhouse. It certainly doesn't look like the actions of a "national" leader.

And, as usual, guess who's in the middle with a no-win situation. No matter what the U.S. investigation determines, it's a loser with someone.

Update: Here's another case of Iraq military (Shiites) raping Sunni's ... and the perps have confessed.